Gallup Poll: 58% of Americans Oppose All or Most Abortions

With the murder trial of abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell in full swing, a new Gallup poll of Americans nationwide find well over half oppose all or virtually all abortions.

Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 2-7, find 58 percent of Americans want either all or almost all abortions illegal — with 20% saying it should be illegal in all circumstances and 38% favoring it in only in a few circumstances.

Just 39 percent of Americans support all or most abortions remaining legal, with only 26% of Americans favoring legalized abortion under any circumstances (the position of Planned Parenthood and President Barack Obama) and 13% favoring legality under most circumstances.

The poll also showed varying groups of Americans also strongly oppose abortions and want it illegal in all or most circumstances. Some 59 percent of men and 57 percent of women want all or most abortions illegal as do 57 percent of young Americans under the age of 34. Republicans want all or most abortions illegal on a 78-21 percentage point margin while 59 percent of independents and even 43 percent of Democrats oppose all or most abortions.

The Gallup survey also includes an update of Americans’ self-identification as either “pro-choice” or “pro-life.” More Americans call themselves pro-life on a 48-45 percentage point margin.

Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List contacted LifeNews in response to the poll.

“Gallup asks whether views would shift if more Americans were aware of the Gosnell trial,” she said. “The answer is unequivocally yes. There has been no shortage of recent evidence exposing the abortion industry for negligence and brutality. Kermit Gosnell is only a pull on the thread of the sweater.”

“These numbers once again make it clear that Americans overwhelmingly oppose late-term abortions,” continued Dannenfelser. “The law should follow this instinctive resistance to such a dehumanizing and degrading practice. As the country’s attention is turned to this issue, we hope to see Congress address the multi-state breakdown of oversight in the abortion industry as well as the barbarism of abortions performed on children capable of feeling pain and surviving outside the womb.”